Improvement in portable fence-post driver



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM CARNS, OF NEW OUMBERLAND, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN PORTABLE FENCE-POST DRIVER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. [03,716, dated May 31,1870.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLLAM GAENs, of NewCumberland, in the county of Tuscarawas and State of Ohio, have inventeda Portable Fence-Post Driver; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description of the construction andoperation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing,making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a sideelevation. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view.

Like letters in both figures of the drawing indicate like parts.

The object of my invention is to provide a light, portable machine forthe setting of fence-posts by driving them in the ground, so as todispense with the time and labor ordinarily required in the digging ofthe holes; and consists of a trip-hammer suitably arranged with a camand gear-wheels, the whole being supported by proper frame-work,provided with ordinary sled-runners.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction-and operation.

The base of the frame or machine is composed of runners A A, similar tothose of a sled. B B are uprights attached to crosspieces aa of therunners. C O are braces attached to the sides of the uprights, forholding them rmly in position and also for supporting the cam andgear-wheels. D D are the gear-wheels, which are arranged and pivoted ina slot, b, of the brace, the latter being made wide enough for thepurpose, or they may be attached to the brace or braces in any othersuitable manner. The smaller gearwheel is provided with a crank-handle,c.

" E is the cam arranged between the braces,

and attached rigidly to the axle or shaft ot' the larger gear-wheel, sothat, by turning the crank-handle, the smaller gear-wheel, meshing withthe larger, will thus cause the cam to operate the trip-hammer. F is thetrip-hammer, the arm of which is securely pivoted to the top of theupright, and is so constructed as to leave an opening, d, in it, inwhich is pivoted a friction-roller, e, and also to permit of the pointof the cam passing through the opening While operating the hammer, orwhen it is at rest, the cam having its bearing on the roller.

Operation: The post, beingiirst slightly tapered at the end with an ax,is placed against the side of the upright, at the rear of the frame,and, to keep it in a perpendicular position, I provide the upright witha suitable number of holes, with pins h, one to be inserted in a hole oneach side of the post. The crank-handle is then turned, which causesthecam to elevate the hammer, (Fig. l showing -the cam in the act ofraising the hammer,) and after the point of the cam has reached theroller, and immediately upon its leaving it, the hammer is dropped withconsiderable force on the top of the post, thus driving it in theground. The operation is then repeated until the post has been driven into the proper depth, not more than three or four strokes ot' the hammer,occupying but a moment or so, being required to drive a post two or twoand one-half feet, the usual depth, in the ground.

The machine is drawn from point to point by a horse, and, when used onthe hill-side, I attach jackrunners to the runners on side of the frame,so as to raise the machine to a level, and thus enable it to be operatedas well on the hill-side as on level ground.

One man can operate this machine, and accomplish with it in one day asmuch as the labor of fifteen or twenty men in the setting offence-posts. This has been ascertained by actual demonstration.

I have a full-size machine of about eight feet longv and three andone-half wide, and can easily raise by hand a hammer of three hundredpounds weight, being siX times the amount required to drive a fence-postin ordinary soil, the machine in all not weighing over five hundredpounds-not half the draft of a horse required to draw it from post topost.

The face of the hammer is slightly inclined, so that it will strike thetop of the post squarely, and thus avoid its being changed from aperpendicular position while entering the earth.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim therein as nwew,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The trip-hammer, with its arm F, provided with friction-roller e, incombination with the cam E, constructed and supported by bracing C andstandards B, having guide-pins h, substantially as and for ,the purposeset forth.

WM. GARNS.

Witnesses ROBERT GAENAHAN, THOMAS MILLS.

